Thursday, 16 May 2013

Blogger? Did You Say A Bad Word?

Blogger: noun. One who maintains and updates a weblog, or 'blog'.

But is it really so simple these days?

Bloggers today not only provide interesting content, usually on a day-to-day basis, but they take their pictures and come up with a snappy headline, some bloggers code their own sites, some arrange advertising for their site and nearly all spend a lot of time researching the products and experiences that they are going to feature on their site.

It isn't always as simple these days as just writing shit down on a web log,

and yet I am noticing more often these days, the word blogger used in a derogatory, sneering way.

There are bloggers out there who are updating their site 3-4 times a day, and not just with regurgitated press releases either, but with strong, solid content that brings in the readers, and keeps them coming back for more. Others may only update a couple of times a week but it is obvious that a lot of time and research has gone into each article.

And yet you still hear people saying, "Oh............. she's a blogger?" in almost the same tone as one would say, "Oh, she skins puppies and uses their pelt for underwear"?

The terms we use to describe what we do are changing too, instead of blog, we say site. Article or feature instead of post, and some people say editor or writer instead of blogger. We use these terms as technology and blogging moves on, and yet we have people who say we are getting above ourselves and try to slap us back down, to know our place.

Well no, there is a place for blogging/writing/online features, or whatever term you use. There is a place for everyone. Print/blogs/Vlogs can all exist together. No-one is getting above their station, as we are all needed and read and appreciated for what we do.

So can people stop using blogger as a derogatory term and embrace it, appreciate it and realise that blogging these days CAN be more than just "writing shit down"

What do you think?

Is the word blogger becoming almost an insult?

Do people not realise that some bloggers put a HUGE amount of effort into their site (Not me, I'm just making this stuff up as I go along)

16 comments

You're not overreacting. I look forward to new posts from my favourite blogs the same way I looked forward to the next issue of my favourite magazines years ago. That's how I inform myself on topics that interest me, be it current affairs, nail polish, make-up, new releases, books - I read blogs. I think the problem isn't with bloggers - the problem is with people like Ms. Stick-Up-My-Arse-Editor mentioned above. There are so many different types of blogger. There are the ones who live and breath their blog. They spend hours reviewing products, taking and editing photographs, maintaining good relationships with companies and PRs, write witty and entertaining posts on a daily or weekly basis - sometimes while holding down a full-time job or being in charge of a home and children at the same time. Secondly, there are the ones who blog because they just like to talk, they post with no real schedule, like to take pictures, wouldn't know a PR from a PI and do it purely because they find it fun. Of course there are the ones who start blogging purely to see what they can get for nothing, but they don't last long because they realize the sheer amount of effort it takes to run something on a regular basis. Those who don't 'get it' assume that we are all the latter. I personally think the people who are derogatory are running scared of some bloggers because they know their own content is inferior by comparison. Maybe I'm full of poo, I don't know.

This is like when democracy entered the realm and all of a sudden everyone had their say and could vote...The establishment didn't like the populace having a say. Mind you if there were blogs back then we would all have been rounded up like the witches of Salem so I see why all the newspapers and magazines like to demean bloggers.

I don't think blogger is an insult perse but it does seem to raise eyebrows in the vein of who do you think you are to have a platform. I do find myself a bit shy and reticent to say I blog funny enough.

This is SO true. It's only in the past few months that I've felt brave enough to tell people I'm a blogger and tell them to f*ck off if they laugh at me. I love what I do and if I can make a career out of it then great, but I'm not having someone tell me they're better than me just because what they write comes out on a sheet of paper twice a month. BUGGER.OFF.

Apart from great responses from close friends, I have received much ridicule for being a blogger. Terms of "vain", "self obsessed", "up their own arses" and "deluded" have all been bandied about. I let people think what they want, I don't know. Blogging is something I love, I've met great people as a result of it and if people think badly of me for it, then I don't need their opinion.

Re Jenny's comment - I hate to say that journalists ARE lumped together and sneered at. I think 'journalist' consistently ranks just above estate agent as the UK's most despised profession...

I think if you look for an insult, you'll find one. I don't think saying bloggers are like a network of freelancers is necessarily sneering - it's saying bloggers are a community of writers who provide content of the same quality as a professional print writer, no? But I don't know the context to the comment, so I could easily be way off base.

I think most of the other comments are from people who simply don't know what blogging is, only have a vague idea that it's writing about your own thoughts and sharing them with strangers - which does, on the surface, sound a bit narcissistic. I just look on it as an opportunity to evangelise about how amazing and fun blogging can be! People are usually quite impressed when I tell them about my job, and what fun it can be, on a good day - I've even inspired a few people to start blogging, which NEVER happened when I was a journalist.

I think JB sounds like she has a rod up her arse. Most bloggers do what they do for free, while journalists get paid. That means bloggers love what they do so much they do it for free....and that's to be sneered at?! Oh, my sides.

Great post Kellie. I couldn't agree more. So many hours go into our blog, researching and writing original articles. I work in PR so see how the attitude towards bloggers has really changed. But we'll keep doing our thing regardless because we do it because we love it, whatever they say.

Ill be totally honest I don't notice it until people point it out! Haha. But maybe I'm just a little ignorant? Although maybe I just want to keep my little place all happy it's not often I stay 100% positive but I try to do that in blogging :) tbh im not a trained journalist or a make-up artist etc so i can understand why they might want to seperate the "professionals" and the "bloggers" but i dont think the literal segregation is nessessary x

I think there is bound to be some animosity from journalists as bloggers/websites are getting ad revenue that may have gone to magazines in the past. I very rarely read magazines anymore, I much prefer blogs.

I agree! Loving the rant. I also love our little blog, it is not glamorous or filled with amazing artistic photos but it is real. I also hate the term "blaggers" .... lots of bloggers work damn hard at well written reviews, it is not just an excuse to get free stuff!!

I think bloggers are so bloody talented. I love the reviews and topics more than anything written in all the celeb/women mags I use to buy. Time-are-a-changing!Love the things you write about, then all comments are great to read aswell. x

I think the problem actually contradicts Jenny's comment. Journalists IS a catch-all term which includes those that write Daily Mail articles and those that actually have a brain.

I think the same happens with blogging. It's too loose a term for what blogging actually encompasses. I'll hold my hands up - it gets me furious that I'm in the same category as some of the complete bullhonkey that's out there - blogs which exist purely for sponsorship and getting free stuff, full of poorly written posts because the only reason they're writing is because they were given something free. Reviews that aren't reviews but just "I was given this thing for free, here's a close-up photo/Instagram photo of it".

I'm not that kind of blogger. I think about what I want to write about and try to make an effort and it really does get me mad that I might tell someone I blog and they think I do the former kind of blogging.

Christina L's comment above sums it up for me - there are people who think that blogging = reviews and that's not what some of us out there are doing, we're just writing some stuff and hoping some people find it interesting.

I've recently thought about turning my blog into a business so I don't have to return to work after maternity leave. I'm being offered work on a daily basis but when you mention it to other people they're all like "Oh, but isn't a blog where you just talk to people who you don't know about the stuff that none of your friends are bothered about?"

Some people just don't understand. So many bloggers put a lot of time and effort into maintaining their beloved online space. I know that I need to improve on a lot of things if I decide to take mine to the next level but I'm not going to let the haters stop me from doing it :)

I do sometimes feel like being a blogger is like a dirty little secret - and when I mention it, it is either gently derided (delusions of grandeur, and the like, or "why would you think anyone would be interested in what YOU've got to say?"), or else slightly confusing, and followed by looks saying "you weirdo".

As a marketeer, when not a mother or blogger, I think that bloggers are changing the landscape of how consumers get information and ideas, and also feeding into our desire for connectivity - hence why some blogs who talk about their everyday life are also relatively popular. Bloggers are redefining what professional writers are - what is a professional anyway when it comes to writing and giving opinions on product, life etc?? More to the point, bloggers and blogging or feature writing, or whatever we eventually morph into, is NOT going away, and I'm really happy to be part of it.

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